Wine Affairs

I like this place but I definitely think it should be called beer-​affairs. I’ve never been overwhelmed with the quality of their wine list and wines, but they definitely have some great craft beers. It is in our neighborhood so on the rare date night without the kids we like to stop here at the end of the night. The servers are really friendly although there seems to be a fair amount of turnover. They got a bonus star for a long sordid story where one of my friends who lives in DC left her credit card there. The heart of the story was how helpful every employee was in helping her get it back — these guys are good people!

Look out for Travis.
Anyways, this bar is awesome! Great atmosphere, cool games to play, delicious beers on tap.
Our server, Rocky, was extremely helpful.
Highly recommend!

i just went back here and i have been coming here since 2010 the food portions have gotten much smaller and the prices have gone up by $ 2.00 on the food.
The wine flights have changed not as good for what you use to get and the service is slow. So disappointed !
You have people serving you with gangster hats and looking more and more like a sports bar
instead of a wine bar.

Nice little neighborhood bar on the alameda. They have a very good beer selection. Cant comment on the wines — I may have tried their wines once but prefer to go with the beer and tasty small bites usually. If you’re looking for a drink in a relaxed atmosphere with the option to nibble give Wine Affairs a try. Caveat — I’ve only been here on weekdays.

Terrible service from the girl server. I brought in a friend from out of town, and right upon stepping in we weren’t acknowledged or anything. So we just sat ourselves down, and the woman still continued to walk by us and help everyone else. Finally got her attention when I said «excuse me» and even while we were ordering, she could not have been more impassive. Not a good look when I’m introducing someone to San Jose.

I really like this place. It is a cute little place. Sometimes they have live music. I usually go for happy hour. There wine list is pretty good. The brie is my favorite app.

eh this place is meh. I remember being so excited when this place opened. But then it never was fun… too quiet and no one was ever there, always smelled of sharp cleaning fluid, and the people who worked their were rude. I once watched a «bartender» and maybe partial“owner” stand behind the bar and eat an ENTIRE sub, licking his fingers and everything, while ignoring me and the TWO other poor souls. Then it got better when they got a nice bartender for a hot second, who actually put on the Sharks games and seemed to care about making this place feel «neighborhood.» Now it is somewhere in between. Yes, people go here now which is nice. However the food is not worth the price at all and the service… it is still pretty bad. It’s become a desperation location for us. If only they would offer better food or bring the current prices down to reality and then it may become a go-​to place for us again. I can throw down some bread, 6 slices of cheese and some dried apricots for a LOT less than what they charge here, and serve it with at least a smile which is more than anyone can say about the current servers who work here.

Been once thus far on «date night» and so far so good. A really nice variety of wines of all types. My husband and I had a glass of cab and a glass of merlot, as well as the Meatball and Sausage Bites appetizer, which was very tasty.
Neither my husband nor I are beer drinkers, so I did not explore the beer menu but it looked like they had a good selection of «trendy» beers, for all you hipsters out there :)
Love the interior, reminded me of something you would see in Napa, Calistoga, or St. Helena. Friendly servers/​bartenders.
Don’t feel like I’ve gone enough times to give comprehensive review but enjoyable enough that I recommend trying. We will for sure be back.

Great happy hour prices. Wine and beer selection are awesome, but the cheese and meat plates where underwhelming. Very slow service, but heavy pours — so we didn’t mind too much. Get the truffle popcorn!

Used to go here all the time, and it was rarely crowded. Parking is usually readily available on the street (or side streets). The food selection is limited, but what they have is usually good. The beer selection is nice as well. I don’t drink wine, so …
The ambience is the cool thing here, though. It’s very laid back and relaxed, and if you get the circular table towards the back, it’s like chilling on your own sofa in your living room. That’s a unique feeling for being out in Silicon Valley.
A little pricey, so make your date pay her half. Ha ha.

THEY DOUBLE CHARGE CUSTOMERS AND WILL NOT REFUND YOUR MONEY. I am so disgusted with Wine Affairs. I went on Friday night and checked my credit card today– I was charged twice, 2 different amounts. I called about 4:40pm today to get it fixed. Was told a manager would call me back shortly. Two hours later no call so I call again. I can hear the manager rudely in the background saying he isn’t going to deal with this right now, tells the girl who answered the phone that she answered the phone so it’s her problem that he is too busy. Absolutely disgusting. I could hear the whole exchange and not only does the manager not care about customers, he is extremely rude to his staff. There are plenty other wine bars around town I will happily take my money to where I am not ripped off. And in the mean time I guess I file a fraud charge with my credit card company since Wine Affairs is clearly in the business of ripping people off. STAY AWAY!
UPDATE– IT GETS WORSE. The manager Steven called me and said to help him help me by not calling during peak hours (my first call that he didn’t return wasn’t during peak hours…). So I asked him what time peak hours are so I can call outside of them. He said it’s 723 right now. Right, I have a clock I know the time, I’m asking when your peak hours are. He said I’m not going to help you and hung up. Are freaking kidding me with this!!!

This is one of my favorite wine bars! They have an ever changing menu of wine flights to enjoy and a surprising amount of beers. Everytime I am there, I end of leaving with at least one bottle from my flight. They also have a great selection of appetizers. I had a birthday party there. Its a great spot to gather with friends. They frequently have live music too!

Today was my first time and LAST coming to this establishment. I would give this place ½ stars if I could…
My two friends and I arrived around 6pm and no one greeted us or helped us to be seated since it was our first time there. We stood in front of the door for about 5 minutes and none of the servers/​bartenders welcomed us or guided our way. So, we decided to just sit at the table near the window and the waitress finally came to our table 10 minutes later. Our table only fitted 3 but we told our waitress that one more person is coming and if there was any other tables available for 4 people. She told us to go to the back and so we did – but she did not follow us. She literally left us hanging and decided to help another table. My friends and I were right in the middle of the bar because we didn’t know where exactly she wanted us to sit at because she left us! We decided to sit in a booth that was one of the few available and it was secluded from everything else (near the bathroom).
When we asked our waitress if it was happy hour, she bluntly said «not today.» According to the website of Wine Affairs, Happy Hour is ALL DAY Wednesday. So if you’re expecting to come on a Wednesday for Happy Hour, don’t bother going because they don’t offer it. Either she doesn’t know or the website needs to be updated! Misleading information because this is why I came to this place on a Wednesday!
As mentioned before in the previous reviews, our waitress had NO PERSONALITY or ENTHUSIASM whatsoever. She didn’t introduce herself and did not seem very happy. She didn’t seem like she wanted to help us or even work there and made us feel really awkward when ordering. In addition, as we were ordering, she tried to remember what we ordered but when it was too much stuff to order, she tried to write down on her notepad but she forgot her pen. So she left and went to get a pen and made us repeat our order again – very unprepared. The waitress also forgot my friend’s water/​plates when she said she’ll be back to give it to him but we had to flag her down 15m later to ask for it again. Not only did she forget that, but she forgot our third wine flight and only checked up on us ONCE in that 2 – 2.5 hour span. The one time she checked up on us was when we were already done and wanted the check.
Besides the horrible service, the food was mediocre. However, it took a VERY long time. I would say 20−30m for the food to come out and it came out one at a time. So, technically, we didn’t get all of our food until 40m later. I already finished my wine flight before the food came out! They had a good selection of beers and wines but it was pretty expensive for a glass ($ 10+).
We had:
— Meat & Cheese Plate (get the Goat cheese! It’s creamy and delicious!)
— Duck Fat Fries (I expected crispy fat fries but they were soggy)
— Tomato Bruschetta (Tomato tasted fresh!)
— Super Sweet Flight
— Chardonnay Flight
The food was alright but the service was horrifying. I definitely won’t be coming back after this whole experience.

This place includes all the pillars to a good establishment: good beer and wine, appetizers, and then combine this with a killer Happy Hour.
Go here if your friends have marked you as a Happy Hour diva.
Go here if you are a Sun Goddess who can’t sit inside.
Go here if you rather be eating meatballs and cheese than sushi and kale.

The good:
Good craft beer selection with some at very reasonable prices. Convenient location on The Alameda.
The mediocre:
The food was edible but nothing more. Our salad was completely over dressed and our sausage and meatball bites likely would have been better if weren’t cold. I believe they may have been hot upon arrival but we were unable to try them for 10 minutes since we were not provided any utensils and our server was nowhere to be found.
The bad:
Service! Our server had zero personality. However, what she lacked in personality she made up for in inattentiveness. While we were deciding on a beverage she just stared at my girlfriend and I in lieu of providing a recommendation which was uncomfortable at best. She appeared to be disinterested and actually began to walk away in the middle of our ordering. We were beginning to think that she was a Stepford Wife. Although we were seated at a table, we were forced to walk to the bar a few times in able to get the attention of our server to be able to order additional items. Apparently chatting with other servers and putting on lipstick was a greater priority to her than servicing her customers so we decided to skip ordering any additional items and go find a restaurant that valued our business.
Summary:
Decent selection of fairly priced beer and wine. A good place for a craft beer or glass of wine if you find pleasure in being ignored and wish to have no human interaction with the wait staff. Based on the number of Unilocal reviews that have articulated very similar experiences with the poor execution of the service, I can only conclude that the ownership does not have any real interest in addressing this issue. Therefore, I would recommend finding another place to spend your money and time.

For a place that bills itself as a wine bar… I was very disappointed as its much more of a brewpub or brewery atmosphere. The bright side was they seem to have a great beer selection and if I was taking a date to a «hipster» or nicer place… this is a good bet.
As I expected a «wine bar» this place was more industrial looking and (at least on that day) the music was rock & very loud… not a great setting to enjoy a glass of vino on a first date.
Second– the service was lacking. No wine suggestions or recommendations from the staff and they only asked on us once or twice. I also found the wines a bit pricey for the quality… but wine bars are like that.
The neighborhood needs a place like this– and its a good place for what it really is– but its not a traditional wine bar.

I want to love this place, as I just moved to the neighborhood, but it needs work. The price of a 2 Oz pour is what they should be charging for the 5 Oz glass, fortunately the pours are generous.
When I sat at bar, despite 5 employees roaming around, no one asked me what I wanted for at least 5 minutes when I stared one down. Good to not be pushy, but a little checkin is nice.
As some other Unilocalers noted, there is a faint odd smell. Not sure what it is.

I love the staff here are knowledgable without being pushy. I have worked my way through most of the wine flights across a number of visits.
I also approve of the varied beer list, a good selection of beer at a place that socialized in wine is a good thing.
They have a wine club but I don’t know too much about it and they also hold events, the one we saw was a Chimay beer a food pairing. Flat fee and go up as you are ready, very wine room-​esque!
You can get your wine to-​go. Nice if you order a bottle but don’t finish it!

I’m pleased to note that W. A is still doing great from my last visit two years ago? In fact it’s more vibrant now.
Met up with a friend for their awesome HH and they did not disappoint. Service was friendlier and faster now too.
The HH menu was extensive enough. We had a mix of cheese and meat plate, a beer for me and a red wine for my friend. Total for two including tax and tip $ 35+.
The place was full at 7:30 pm on a weekday. Although my favorite table by the window opened up as we walked in as if by miracle! We parted the Red Sea! It sure felt like it! I know it’s waay below anything short of just a night for me to impress a non Unilocaler with my Unilocaly knowledge. Lol! Whew! I think I just converted one more!
Thanks W. A for not letting me down and letting me keep the cool factor to a full five stars!
You still impress me and please continue to do so! I remain a fan!

My friends and I made reservations for their recent NYE event. It was $ 25 a person for one appetizer and a glass of champagne at midnight. My friends and I got there around 8pm and the place was deserted. It filled up though by the time midnight rolled around. We had a nice table by the window with bar stools which was nice. Some later parties had to sit on these round low things that had no backs.
I have been told they have good tapas food but for NYE they only had a New York focused menu. And it was stuff that could not really be shared — hot dogs, pizza from down the street and lox & bagels. They did a nice meat and cheese plate but that was the only thing we could order and share with our table of 5. Seems a bit weird for NYE when you want to hang out with friends and share food.
The staff was very friendly and came around often to check on us. It seemed we saw every member of the staff at least once during the night. They answered our questions and took care of us.
They also had a nice Jazz trio. It was nice background music and was not too loud even though we were right next to them.
I would like to give them 4 stars due to the great service but the food choices just did not cut it on NYE. I will have to drop by during a regular night to check out the food.